Wordless Wednesday | Sailboats & A Ferris Wheel, Scarborough, England

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - Scott took this photo when he was working outside of York. He took a drive to Scarborough on one of his days off. 

2 - I'm pretty sure he took the photo because of all the sailboats.

3 - I would have taken it because of the Ferris wheel. 

4 - Ferris wheels are fun. Especially when you can see sailboats from them.

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi!

Cost Of Boat Projects & Liveaboard Life | August & September 2017

We track and report every penny we spend living aboard and cruising on Tickety Boo, our Moody 346 sailboat for a couple of reasons.

1 - It helps us see where our money is going, helps us make informed choices about where to spend our money, which in turn helps us stretch our money further so that we can keep adventuring longer.

2 - We found it really useful to check out other people's cost of cruising when we were starting out, so we figure we can return favor by sharing ours.

We're currently at Indiantown Marina in Florida waiting out hurricane season and working on boat projects/upgrades to get Tickety Boo ready to head to the Western Caribbean this coming season. You can find details of how much we spent during August and September 2017 below.

You can find links to other cost updates from ourselves (on Tickety Boo, camping across the States and our previous boat in New Zealand) and others on this page, as well as on The Monkey's Fist.

****

Cost of Boat Projects & Liveaboard Life  | August & September 2017

Okay, so here's the headline for our spending over the last two months - we spent a fortune! Maybe not a fortune compared to what other folks spend each month, but it was kind of shocking to add things up and realize that we spent >> $4,805 during August and September <<.

But, if I'm looking at things glass half full, then I guess it's good we spent that much because it will have mentally prepared us for what are likely to be some really high expenses over the next several months as we tackle a number of boat projects and buy a bunch of expensive stuff for the boat.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty details of the details of what we spent, here are a few things to note:

1 - All costs are in US dollars.

2 - Not all expenses are included - here's what we've left out:

(a) We don't report how much we spend on alcohol. I remember reading some horrible, judgy comments in a blog post a few years back about how much someone spent on booze, so I left it out when we first started tracking our cruising costs back in New Zealand. For consistency's sake, I've continued to leave it out when tracking our cruising costs.

(b) We've also left out our costs for medical insurance. We didn't think it made sense to include insurance costs as they can vary so widely depending upon your nationality, where you cruise, what level of coverage you want and can afford etc. In case you are curious, while we're back in the States, we do have insurance through the health insurance marketplace (aka ACA/Obamacare), primarily to protect our assets and cover us in case of a catastrophic medical condition.

3 - I've included any shipping and taxes we've paid in what we report. Florida has a 6% sales tax.


GROCERIES | Total = $749

This category includes everything we put in our bodies in terms of food and drink (excluding booze) that we prepare ourselves. It doesn't include things like paper towels and ziploc bags, which I know some people would classify as groceries. Sure, you could probably eat them, but they wouldn't taste very good.

I'm actually okay with what we spent in this category. It averages out to less than $400 a month, which is kind of what I like to aim for.


PERSONAL & HOUSEHOLD | Total = $20

This is the category where we include household things (like paper towels and ziploc bags) and personal hygiene items (like soap and shampoo). We also capture items for the "home" here - like bug spray.


ENTERTAINMENT | Total = $516

In terms of drinks and eating out, this includes everything we don't prepare ourselves, even if we get something to go and eat it back on the boat. We also track how much we spend on books, magazines, DVD rentals and going to the movies in this category, as well as the occasional lottery ticket.

We spent far more than we normally do in this category in September. But we have a good reason - fun. Yep, we had tons of fun when we were in Atlanta staying with friends during our Hurricane Irma evacuation. Lots of that fun involved going out to eat and having drinks out. So, although it's more than we would of liked to have spent, it was totally worth it.


COMMUNICATIONS | Total = $160

Our cell phone is actually one of our biggest non-boat related expenses. We have a $60 monthly prepaid plan with AT&T which includes 8GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. During August, we ended up having to buy extra cellular data to satiate our internet needs. Fortunately, our friends came back to Indiantown Marina because of Hurricane Irma and they've been letting us piggy-back off of their Wirie Wi-Fi extender which means we can get marina Wi-Fi on our boat now and not have to rely on ultra-expensive cellular data.


BOAT FUEL | Total = $34

As part of our Hurricane Irma prep, we got extra gas for our jerry cans. We took them with us on our evacuation to Atlanta, thinking we might need it for the car or generator given the fuel shortages. Fortunately, we were able to find gas on the road, so we'll end up using the gas in the generator for our outboard motor and generator when we're out cruising next season.


PROPANE  | Total =Nil

We have a propane/LPG cooker on our boat, which we need to replace as the stove no longer works and replacement parts aren't available. While we're at Indiantown Marina, we use an electric hotplate and a crockpot for cooking, so we haven't had to spend any money on filling our propane tanks.


MARINA COSTS | Total = $1,166

Keeping Tickety Boo in a slip is one of our biggest expenses. The monthly cost of a slip with electricity at Indiantown Marina for a 34' boat is $572.40. The guys at the marina will also come pump out our holding tank on demand - $5.30 for each visit - which we tend to do two or three times a month.


BOAT STUFF | Total = $505

This category is for all the stuff we buy for the boat, as well as repairs and maintenance costs. One of our big purchases over the past two months was a stack pack kit for a 16' boom from Sailrite. Normally, they go for $264, but we bought it during a sale and got $20 off. Sometimes, it pays to wait and keep an eye out for sales. We also bought some other miscellaneous sewing supplies for repairs to our bimini, dodger and sun shade from Sailrite.

The other big expenses in this category are related to some of our boat projects - materials to build a folding table in the galley (more counter space - yeah!) and replace and rebed the portlights in our saloon.


TRANSPORT | Total = $190

This category is for costs related to our vehicle, mostly for gas to keep it going and drive into the nearby "big city" of Stuart for errands. We also track other transport costs, like the Uber we took in Atlanta.

We ended up spending a lot on gas during September due to evacuating to Atlanta as a result of Hurricane Irma, far more than we normally spend each month. We also bought new windshield wipers ($14).


MEDICAL EXPENSES | Total = Nil

This category includes medical expenses outside of our monthly insurance premium (which aren't included here - see section on exclusions above), like over the counter medications, prescriptions and things for our medical kit. It also includes the costs of doctors visits and medical tests which aren't covered by our insurance.

It's always nice to report nil spending in this category.


OTHER | Total = $1,461

In this category, we break out how much we spend on clothes and travel expenses. We also include a catch-all miscellaneous group for stuff that doesn't fit neatly anywhere else - things like laundry.

Yep, this was the budget breaking category over the past couple of months. Scott's laptop once and for all stopped working (he nursed it for a long time), so we got him a new one. Cha-ching. The other electronic gadget we bought was another Kindle. No more having to share.

One of the other big ticket items was Scott's ticket back to Scotland. He'll be heading back there this month to tend to work and other matters.

We also bought Scott some new clothes. Those of you who know Scott will be amazed that he agreed to buy new clothes. He got some new Keen sandals (his old ones literally fell apart) and some new t-shirts from places we visited in Atlanta (most of his other t-shirts are "official boat project t-shirts" because they have holes or stains on them).

We also spent a whopping 79 cents on a can of dog food for a dog we found wandering the streets of Indiantown all on his own. Fortunately, his owner came and rescued him. The dog was so cute so the 79 cents was a totally justifiable expenditure.

Did we spend more or less than you would have expected? Do you track your expenses? Any frugal living tips to share?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi!

September In Numbers

Clockwise from upper left: (1) Hurricane Irma's projected track which at one point put Indiantown directly in her path; (2) Operation Portlight Replacement commenced; (3) Refinishing projects; (4) Great pancakes in Atlanta; (5) Our favorite Ethiopian dish - doro wat; and (6) The church where Martin Luther King Jr. used to preach at.

It's time for our usual monthly recap by the numbers. This past month is probably best summed up, not by a number, but by one word >> hurricanes <<.

Most of our energy in September was focused on prepping our boat for Hurricane Irma, evacuating Florida to Atlanta to get our of Irma's way, waiting and worrying to hear what the impact of Irma was, making our way back to Florida and getting our boat back in order, then worrying about whether Hurricane Maria was to come our way, watching the news unfold about the destruction that Irma and Maria left in their wake, and feeling devastated for all of those folks impacted as we .

We did manage to have oodles of fun while we were in Atlanta visiting our amazing and generous friends, Duwan and Greg from Make Like an Ape Man. Our evacuation turned into a bit of a vacation, which was a nice distraction from the waiting and worrying.

Once we got back to Florida and went through a bit of hurricane decompression, we also managed to start in on our boat project list.

So, enough with all of those words, here's the usual random nonsense recap by the numbers:

• 1 - Number of pancakes I ate while in Atlanta. I love pancakes. I love them more when someone else makes them for me. I love them even more when they're gigantic and larger than my head. The Thumb's Up Diner delivered. {Jo Ann and Vic - thanks for taking us there!}

• 113 - Number of beers that people gave us as we wandered around the Cabbagetown neighborhood of Atlanta. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. We love Cabbagetown and its inhabitants. Some of the coolest people you'll ever meet. Blog post on what make them so awesome coming your way soon.

• 2  - Number of chicken legs we got in our doro wat at the Embilta Ethiopian Cafe in Atlanta. The nice lady knew we were sharing the dish, so she popped an extra leg in for us. Sweet! {Ethiopian is probably our favorite cuisine and we try to find a restaurant in every new city we go to.}

• 39 - How old Martin Luther King, Jr was when he was assassinated. Last month wasn't all about eating out and hurricanes. It was also an opportunity to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr National Historic Site. On our tour of MLK's childhood home, we had two Muslim ladies, a family from India and an African-American family. The mother of the African-American family talked about how important it was to have monuments and historic sites focused on African-Americans and how happy she was to show it to her children. Such a good reminder of the importance of diversity and inclusion. 

• 4 - How many leaky portlights we need to replace in our saloon. We're doing them one-by-one, taking each one out, dismantling everything, cleaning all the old sealant and goo off the frames, cutting new acrylic windows, reassembling everything and reinstalling them. It makes me tired just writing about it.

• 22 - How many hours it took us to get from Indiantown, Florida to Atlanta on our evacuation. 

• 3 - The number of new t-shirts Scott bought. Getting Scott to buy new clothes is worse than pulling teeth. I consider this to be quite a victory. They're really cool t-shirts too from places we visited in Atlanta.  

• $383 - How much we spent on entertainment last month. Much higher than we normally spend but a good reflection of how much fun we had in Atlanta and all the delicious food we ate.

In case you missed them, here are some of our favorite blog posts from last month:

Captain Ron, Squalls & Support Groups
Evacuating the Hurricane Zone | Stinky Chickens & Dodgy Motels
Going for a Walk with a Load of Laundry | Spanish Wells, Bahamas


How did last month go for you? What are you looking forward to this month?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi!

Simon The Time Traveling Cat Gets A Visitor IWSG

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is a place to share and encourage, where writers can express their doubts and concerns without appearing foolish or weak. It's a great place to mingle with like minded people each month during IWSG day.

Every month there's an optional question which may prompt folks to share advice, insights, a personal experience or story. Some folks answer the question in their IWSG blog post or let it inspire them if they're struggling with what to say.

This month's question is:

"Have you ever slipped any of your own personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?"

Check out how people have answered this month's question, as well as the other insecurities and writing topics they may have shared by visiting the IWSG sign-up list here. If you want to see how I answered the question, have a look below.

****

Image via The Graphics Fairy

"Simon, where are you?" I looked around for the grouchy, old gray cat that decided to move onto my boat about a year ago. "I've got a surprise for you."

Simon peered out from behind a throw pillow. "It better be a good, lady. Last time you brought me a surprise it was a leash. As if any self-respecting cat would let themselves be taken for a walk," he said with a snarl.

I looked down at the ball of black fur cuddled against my chest. "Look, it's the cat from the boat next to us."

Simon narrowed his eyes and growled.

"You know, Blackberry Jam," I added. "It's on account of the fact that she's got black fur, only her humans call her Jam for short. Isn't that just the cutest name?"

Jam looked up at me and purred at the mention of her name. I put her down on the settee next to Simon. She ran up to him and sniffed his nose by way of greeting.

Simon responded by hissing loudly and swatting her across her nose with his sharp claws.

Jam ran back, jumped on my lap and gave a few pitiful meows. While I stroked her back, I stared at Simon.

"Why are you being so rude to our guest?"

"Who asked you to bring over a guest?" Simon lazily washed behind his ears with his paw. "Besides, lady, that stupid cat isn't even real. She's just a figment of your imagination."

"What are you talking about?" I scratched the top of Jam's head. "She's sitting right here. She's real."

"Oh, come on. You told me once that you used to have a black cat named Jam. You're just using stuff from your real life in this stupid blog post because you're too lazy to make up any new stuff."

I shook my head. "Sure, I had a cat named Jam, but for your information, mister, this Jam is nothing like my cat. See, she's sitting on my lap, purring away. The other Jam was skittish and wouldn't let me get within ten feet of her, unless I was feeding her."

Jam meowed and nudged her head against my hand so that I'd scratch under her chin. She was such a sweet cat. Maybe I could trade her for Simon with my boat neighbors.

"Is you want to delude yourself about that stupid cat, go right ahead." Simon stretched out on the settee. " But, how do you explain the main character in that stupid cozy mystery novel you always claim to be working on? She's just like you."

"What do you mean? She's nothing like me!"

"Of course she is. She's obsessed with chocolate, she thinks aliens are real and she's not very good at sailing. Sound familiar, lady?"

I decided I didn't like the direction this conversation was taking. "You know what Simon, you go ahead and stay in here and be grumpy all by yourself. I'm going to use that leash of yours and take Jam for a walk."

Jam meowed excitedly at the sight of the leash and eagerly let me fasten it on her. As I started to carry her up on deck, Simon called out, "Hey, while you're out get some more milk, lady. And make sure it's the full-fat kind, not that stupid skim milk you always try to pawn off on me."

If you're a writer, do you slip personal information into your characters? Which cat would you prefer to live with - Simon or Jam? What's your favorite cat or dog names?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi!

Cruising In The Bahamas | 2017 Season Recap Pt 1 (Route & Anchorages)

Some of the great things we saw and experienced in the Bahamas.

It's been a little over two months since we came back to the States after cruising in the Bahamas this season on Tickety Boo, our Moody 346 sailboat. Where does time go? It's hard to believe we've been back at Indiantown Marina in southern Florida for so long. It's also hard to believe that hurricane season will officially end in a couple of months. I think we'll all be glad to say good bye to this particular hurricane season. It's been just awful in its devastation and destruction.

Because our blog lags reality by many, many weeks, we just finished up posting about our Bahamian adventures which means it's now time for our season recap. (You can find links to all of our Bahamian posts here and there are also links to selected posts below in the recap.)

We'll share the good, the bad and the ugly, as well as fascinating tidbits - like how many ice cream sandwiches we ate, what TV shows we binge watched and how much beer costs in Hope Town. We'll also share some not-so-fascinating but vaguely interesting tidbits - like how many gallons of diesel we bought, how many nights we stayed at marinas vs. at anchor and the number of times we flushed the antifreeze.

So, sit back, relax and grab an icy-cold beverage (preferably a Kalik beer if you have one) and read all about our adventures cruising in Florida and the Bahamas this past season. Don't worry, we'll do the recap in a few parts. After all, we wouldn't want you to run out of beer before you reached the end of this particular post.

****

Cruising Route & Anchorages

All in all, we put 1,735 nautical miles underneath Tickety Boo's keel this season in southern Florida and the Bahamas. That brings me up to around 4,000 total nautical miles sailed and Scott up to around 13,000 total nautical miles sailed.

Our season was 141 days long - 43 of which were spent in Florida and 98 spent in the Bahamas. We spent far more time in Florida then we would have liked due to boat issues and weather.

While we prefer to anchor when we're out cruising (it's usually free), we did end up having to go back to Indiantown Marina twice for repairs, which meant marina fees. We would have loved to report an average of zero dollars per night, but we ended up spending an average of $3.86 per night due to 14 days at the marina. {Boo hiss.}
 
We started off the season on March 9th, leaving Indiantown Marina and heading eastwards along the Okeechobee Waterway and then south on the ICW (intracoastal waterway) to Lake Worth. It was kind of a late start compared to other cruisers, but in some ways it worked out better as we avoided a lot of the nasty weather early on in the season that everyone complained about. We got back to Indiantown Marina on July 28th before the height of hurricane season was upon us.


Leg #1 - The South Florida U-Turn (March 9th - March 27th)

Coconut Grove anchorage in West Palm Beach, Florida

We set off intending to stage ourselves in Lake Worth, wait for a weather window and cross the Gulf Stream over to the Abacos. That didn't happen. While we were anchored at Coconut Grove in West Palm Beach, we decided that we should head back to Indiantown Marina to check on our bottom (we were concerned about our bottom paint), pick up our camping stove since our propane stove decided to stop cooperating with us, and get a new controller for our solar panel.

Fortunately, that turned out to be a relatively quick trip. We hauled out the boat and decided the bottom paint would make it through the season. We quickly took care of our other bits and bobs and only had to spend two nights at the marina. Boom. We were back in business.

Leg #2 - The Abacos (March 28th - May 1st)

Brush fires at Smokey the Bear's Lair anchorage at Great Abaco Island

We finally made it across the Gulf Stream on March 28th with some really yummy cookies. Cookies are important if you're going to sail in the dark. Just saying. Not that I should have to say it. Everyone should already know that cookies make everything better.

Since we had already spent time cruising in the Abacos when we first bought our boat, our plan was cruise through the area kind of quickly, head to the southern Abacos, wait for a weather window and then cross over to Eleuthera.

You'd think by now, we'd know better than to count on a weather window. They never happen when you want them to.

By the way, don't you just love the names of the some of the anchorages in the Bahamas - like Cave Cay, Crab Cay and Smokey the Bear's Lair. Okay, we might have named that last anchorage ourselves due to the brush fires in the area. The anchorage wasn't on the chart so having naming rights seemed like fair game.

While we were waiting for a weather window and hanging out at Matt Lowe's Cay, a ferry sped through our anchorage at an insanely high speed, leaving a huge wake in its path and causing one of our dinghy davits to break. You can read about the whole sad saga here, but the upshot was that we ended up having to head back to Florida to pick up a new dinghy davit.

Leg #3 - Back To Florida (May 2nd - May 21st)

Indiantown Marina with extremely low water levels.

We really hoped that our second return to Indiantown Marina would be a short one. When we got there our new dinghy davit arrived promptly and we installed it without too much fuss. It was all looking good. We were feeling optimistic about things.

Silly us. It was too good to be true. While we were at the marina, we found out that the fresh water pump on our diesel engine was leaking. Yet another thing that needed replacing. And like most things boat-repair related, it wasn't easy. {Sigh} We ended up having to source a spare part through a tractor supply place. Finally, after 12 days at the marina, two Little Ceasar's pizzas and one Taco Tuesday, we managed to escape Indiantown.

Leg #4 - Back To The Bahamas (May 22nd - May 29th)

Anchored in the canals of Ginn sur Mer, an abandoned housing development on Grand Bahama Island.

This time, we decided to head to the Exuma Islands. Everyone raves about the Exumas, so they were definitely on our list of places to get to during the season. Our friends on S/V Wind Spirit were also planning on heading to the Bahamas, so we picked them up in Stuart and we all headed down to Lake Worth to stage for the crossing. It was a short-lived buddy boating experience. They ended up having engine issues and decided not to make the crossing with us. At least they said it was engine issues, maybe it was us. {Spoiler alert - we did end up hooking up with them later in the season.}

Our plan was to cross over to Ginn sur Mer, an abandoned housing development near the West End, anchor in the canals and wait for a weather window to head south to the Berry Islands. Unfortunately, we weren't going to make it to the entrance to Ginn sur Mer before dark and decided not to risk going through an unfamiliar channel into an unknown anchorage. Better safe than sorry.

After anchoring on the Little Bahama Bank for the night, we made it to Ginn sur Mer (which is a little spooky at night), waited out some weather and then did a night passage to the Berry Islands, anchoring at Goat Cay for a night.

We didn't spend much time exploring the Berry Islands, but we did spent a few days anchored at White Cay and had fun exploring the area, especially swimming in the Blue Hole on Hoffman Cay. Then it was off to the Exumas with a stop at the worst overnight anchorage I think we've ever experienced - Rose Island near Nassau. It was like sleeping inside of a tumbler dryer. Fun.

Leg #5 - The Exumas (May 30th - June 25th)

Going for a hike on Stocking Island.

We finally made it to the Exumas and discovered we're not posh people. Well, okay, I think we already knew that we aren't posh, but seeing all the mega-yachts anchored at Highbourne Cay really confirmed it.

Next stop was the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park, a 22-mile stretch of the Exuma Islands where the marine environment, fauna, flora and history are protected. We anchored at many of the well-known anchorages in the park including Shroud Cay (definitely take your dinghy up the creek and go exploring), Warderick Wells (home of the famous Boo Boo Hill where cruisers leave signs with their boat names) and Cambridge Cay (good snorkeling and a close call with a sea plane).

The Exumas are also famous for their swimming pigs. Who are we to pass up a touristy must-do? We spent some time at Big Major's Spot, feeding the pigs, snorkeling at Thunderball Grotto of James Bond fame (a little disappointing) and exploring Staniel Cay.

By this time, we were starting to run out of clean clothes. Fortunately, we found the best laundromat ever at Black Point. They even serve snacks and cold sodas while you're waiting for the wash cycle to finish. My kind of laundromat.

Armed with clean clothes and jerry cans full of fresh water (it was a bit of a saga getting water), we headed south to George Town, the cruisers mecca. I don't know if it was the fact that we were there during the off-season, but our reaction was kind of "Meh, is this it?" However, it was a good stop for re-provisioning and getting diesel, gas and water. We did a bit of socializing and had a nice walk on Stocking Island, and managed to extend our visa while we were there. Then we waited for a weather window to make our way south to Long Island. We waited some more and some more and some more. Then we gave up.

Leg #6 - Cat Island & Eleuthera (June 26th - July 7th)

Anchored at Half Moon Cay (aka Little San Salvador Island), where the cruise ships drop off the punters for the day.

Instead of going south to Long Island, we headed east to Cat Island. Sadly, I didn't see any cats while we were there, but we did see possibly the most amazing thing in the Bahamas - the Hermitage. It might possibly be my favorite place in the Bahamas.

People say that living and cruising on a sailboat involved being in a state of constant fear. You're always afraid something bad might happen to you or your boat (after all you are subject of Mother Nature's whims), but it's a matter of degree of how much fear you feel each day. I don't know if that's true or not, but what I do know is that I was afraid we might lose our sailboat on a lee shore when a storm cell moved in on us in the wee hours one morning at Fernandez Bay on Cat Island. {Yikes.}

The good news is that Tickety Boo is fine and still floating. We got the heck out of dodge and headed for the night to Little San Salvador Island, aka Half Moon Cay. It's one of those islands where cruise ships drop off the punters for the day. Sure, it's a little cheesy, but we had fun exploring it after the cruise ship left the anchorage that evening.

Then it was time to keep heading north to Eleuthera. We ended up spending several days in Rock Sound (a great all-around protected anchorage) while Scott recuperated from a back injury. If you have to be stuck in an anchorage for a while, I can highly recommend Rock Sound.

Next up was a night in Hatchet Bay and then off to Royal Island near Spanish Wells. By this time, we had run out of clean clothes again and went into Spanish Wells in search of a laundromat and other supplies. We weren't able to wash our clothes, but we did have an interesting walk around town and a delicious cheeseburger at Buddha's. Seriously, the place is called Buddha's and there's even a large, glittery gold Buddha head on the bar just in case you forgot the name of the joint. 

Leg #7 - Heading Back (July 8th - July 28th)

Dinghy dock at the Hope Town sailing club.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. The height of hurricane season was coming and we wanted to be tucked back up in Indiantown (a hurricane hole in southern Florida between Stuart and Okeechobee) by the end of July/early August. We debated which way to go back to the States - via Bimini and Ft Lauderdale / Miami or back up through the Abacos and over to Lake Worth. After much discussion, we flipped a coin and headed to the Abacos.

While we were in the Abacos, we tracked down our friends on S/V Wind Spirit, did some buddy boating and experienced some of the best snorkeling in the Bahamas we've had at Sandy Cay. We returned to some of our old haunts, like Hope Town and Marsh Harbour, and headed through the Whale Cay Cut and made our way back.

We had thought about taking our time cruising in Florida before going back to Indiantown, but it was just too darn hot. Seriously hot. So hot that all we could think about during the day and dream about at night was our portable A/C window unit waiting for us back in Indiantown. We got back there on July 28th, tied up in our slip, plugged Tickety Boo into shore power and fired up the A/C. Ahhh...bliss and the end of the season.

****

Here's a fun map of all the places we anchored at during the season. If you click here, it will take you to an interactive map where you can zoom in and see everything in more detail. You can also see where we anchored during our 2015 Bahamas season and I'm also starting to add in all the places we anchored at when we lived and cruised in New Zealand.

****

I'll leave you with some more fascinating and not-so-fascinating tidbits before I go. Next up in our season recap series is cooking and provisioning. You'll want to tune in then, if for no other reason than to find out how many ice cream sandwiches we ate.

If you want to know more about our time cruising in the Bahamas, you can find links to all of our blog posts here.

For those of you who have visited the Bahamas, what did you enjoy the most? For those of you who cruise, do you prefer marinas or anchoring? If you could name an anchorage or an island, what would you name it?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi! 

Captain Ron, Squalls & Support Groups | Back To The States From The Bahamas

Note: Our blog lags reality by many, many weeks. So, while you're reading this post about our cruising adventures in the Bahamas, in reality we're back in Indiantown Marina for hurricane season working on dreary boat projects. Cruising in the Bahamas was far more fun. {Sigh} 

****

Image source vis The Graphics Fairy

As I was looking back through our log book at the entries for our last days in the Bahamas before we crossed the Gulf Stream and headed back to the States at the end of the season, one thing stuck out at me - squalls.

Then I remembered that famous line from the classic cult movie, Captain Ron:

"It's just a squall. They come on ya fast and they leave ya fast."

A few seconds later, I looked at Scott and screamed:

"What have you done to me? I'm quoting lines from Captain Ron to myself! What kind of monster have you turned me into?"

He looked up from his computer and shrugged his shoulders. Then he went back to what he was doing. I'm guessing he was probably on some sailing and cruising forum chatting with other folks about how much they love the movie Captain Ron.

For those of you who haven't heard of Captain Ron, I'm guessing you don't have a boat and aren't into sailing. Because, at least here in the States, you're not allowed to buy a boat and sail in US territorial waters unless you've watched Captain Ron at least ten times.

Knowing navigational rules, sure that's kind of important, but being able to quote Captain Ron, that's the golden ticket to becoming a full-fledged sailor.

As an aside...you realize that you folks who haven't seen Captain Ron are the only ones who are going to read this blog going forward. All the boat-loving sailing types are going to shun me now. They'd probably be understanding if I said that I ate stir-fried kittens for breakfast, but not loving Captain Ron, well, that's enough to get you marooned on a deserted island somewhere.

When we were visiting our friends in Atlanta during our Hurricane Irma evacuation, everyone got all excited about watching Captain Ron one night. Everyone except me, that is.

While they chuckled away during the movie, I messed around on my computer looking for support groups for folks who aren't obsessed with Captain Ron. There aren't any by the way. There are, however, support groups for folks who eat bugs, mothers of alien hybrid children and people who yell at inanimate objects. You'll be reassured to know that I don't feel the need to join any of these groups.

So, anyway, back to squalls. We had a number of them. There you are, happily sailing along when >>Bam!<< the wind kicks up, it starts chucking down rain, visibility goes down and you see lightening circling around you, threatening to strike your mast and sink your boat. Lightening can be kind of evil that way.

Most of the squalls were minor annoyances. As Captain Ron says, they did in fact come on us fast and leave us fast. Some had heavy enough rain that we were able to strip down and take a shower on deck. (I know that might sound weird to some of you, but, hey, when you don't carry a lot of water on board and your last shower was a couple of days ago, the chance for a fresh water rinse courtesy of Mother Nature, is always welcome.)

Then there was the squall that had us bobbing around for an hour trying to wait it out rather than sail through its ominous clouds, thunder and lightening strikes. That one was annoying. But it eventually passed too.

Oh, well, that's part and parcel of sailing. Sometimes the weather is with you, other times, it isn't. As Captain Ron says:

If anything is going to happen, it's going to happen out there.

See, there I go again, quoting Captain Ron. Where's a support group when you need one?

****

Cruising Log | Thursday, 20 July 2017 - Friday, 28 July 2017

20 JULY
Anchor up at Marsh Harbour at 9:30 AM. Two fun-filled squalls. Calm conditions thru the Whale Cay Cut. Had to wait for the tide to go into White Sound at Green Turtle Cay. Anchor down at 2:45 PM.
Nautical Miles = 22. Engine = 5 hrs 15 mins. Spending = $9.97

21 JULY
Got 5 gallons diesel and 5 gallons water at Green Turtle Club Marina. Anchor up at 9:45 AM. Depths in channel out of White Sound lower than expected. Catamaran came into channel as we were making our way out. Wish they would have forewarned folks on the VHF and waited until we got out. Tight maneuvering, skinny water, fortunately no grounding occurred. Three fun-filled squalls. Squall #1 okay. Had to wait for Squall #2 to move on. Squall #3 brought lots of heavy rain and an opportunity to take a rain shower on deck. Anchor down at 3:15 PM at Allans-Pensacola Cay. Only one of two boats anchored there.
Nautical Miles = 23. Engine = 5 hrs 30 mins. Spending = $25.24 (diesel and water).

22 JULY
Anchor up 8:45 AM. Anchor down 6:00 PM at Great Sale Cay. One fun-filled squall. More rain showers on deck. Lifeline broke, same place as before.
Nautical Miles = 35. Engine = 7 hrs 45 mins. Spending = Nil.

23 JULY
Fixed lifeline. Cleaned off knot meter. Made bread and put soup in Wonderbag to cook while en route. Anchor up at 9:45 AM. Sailed without chartplotter for fun. Never know when it might stop working (like that time we were trying to get out of Georgetown). No squalls - hallelujah. Anchor down at 7:00 PM near Sandy Cay on the banks. Got really rolly overnight. 
Nautical Miles = 43. Engine = 9 hrs 15 mins. Spending = Nil.

24 JULY
Scott got up at 2:30 AM to prep engine and boat for Gulf Stream crossing. Ellen got up at 5:30 AM to make passage food. Anchor up at 6:30 AM. The crew is feeling cranky and tired. Fought the tide getting out of the banks. Not a great day for sailing. Should have been great, but it wasn't. Wind was either non-existent or on our nose for the most part. Boo. Challenges with tide getting into Lake Worth inlet. Went to our usual spot to anchor but folks were there. Didn't they know we were coming? Ended up anchoring further south in Lake Worth. Finally got anchor down at 8:00 PM. Cleared in with Customs & Border Patrol over the phone and then off to bed.
Nautical Miles = 64. Engine = 13 hrs 45 mins. Spending = Nil.

25 JULY - 26 JULY
Very hot overnight. Moved up to North Lake Worth. Stopped at fuel dock at Riviera Beach Marina. Very hot during the day. Went to Publix (close by anchorage). Very cold inside. Air conditioning is awesome. Lazed about and complained about the heat.
Nautical Miles = 6. Engine = 2 hours (including oil change). Spending = $99.10 (groceries & diesel)

27 JULY
Anchor up at 8:50 AM. Anchor down in Pendarvis Cove (near Stuart) at 3:00 PM. It's still hot. Nautical Miles = 28. Engine = 6 hrs 10 mins. Spending - Nil.

28 JULY
Anchor up at 9:00 AM. Back at Indiantown Marina that afternoon and into our old slip. It's still hot. #1 priority after docking - plugging into shore power and getting the portable A/C unit turned on.

Ever seen Captain Ron? If so, what did you think? What are your favorite movie quotes? What movies have you seen more than once?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - we'd love for you to pop by and say hi!

Wordless Wednesday | Shadow People

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - Sometimes you just have to take a moment and be silly.

2 - I look so much taller in shadow form than in real life.

3 - That's a really weird pose that I'm making. 

4 - Scott's shadow makes him look like he's wearing a long skirt. 

   
What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi!